


A Light in the Dark

by sunflowerparrish



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Adoption, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Fluff, Friendship, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, I wrote this a while ago please bear with me, Lilo!parents, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, OT5, but he's awesome I promise, cat!Zayn, is all in there, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-08-10 00:01:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20126026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowerparrish/pseuds/sunflowerparrish
Summary: Louis and Liam were no strangers to the adoption agency. They'd tried many times. To be honest, Louis had almost completely given up on having a child. He still wanted it more than anything in the world, but it just seemed too good to be true.That didn't mean he didn't still feel the rush everytime they had the smallest chance at adopting.





	1. No Other Way

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hi! I decided I'd write this, (years too late, I know. I hope someone will still read this) because I'm in love with baby & parental fics. The first three chapters are short, after that they'll be longer.  
Other than other projects (*war flashbacks* I swear I'll finish them) I have this all written and done, so I'll post every week. :)
> 
> Disclaimer: This is an AU, the characters are biased off of the actual people, I in no way mean to offend anyone and obviously I don't own anyone.
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated, and I hope you enjoy :)

A young woman from around 17 years old had mascara stains on her cheek as she stumbled through the dark streets of Mullingar. She held an almost empty basket with just bought baby food and clothes in one hand. A crying newborn in the other.

The girl moved to the outskirts of town, as far away from her house as her tired legs could carry her.  
Still crying silently, she tried to shush her baby and looked to see if anyone was around. Seeing they were alone, she sat down on her knees at the corner of a street and placed the bag on the pavement. The baby stopped crying then, and focused his barely opening eyes on those of his mother looking at him. 

"I'm so sorry." The girl breathed out, her voice shaking. Tears fell down on the baby's face and he blinked. 

"I can't take care of you. No one can know." She whispered desperately as she sat on her knees, next to the basket with her back towards the street. She held her baby in front of her. "I was stupid. And the b-" she choked on her tears and put her hand on her mouth to prevent herself from letting out another cry and maybe waking up one of the people living nearby. 

"The best thing that I can do for you -that you deserve- is let you go." She placed a shaking kiss on his forehead, which was exposed just enough by the blanket wrapped around him, and carefully laid the baby in the basket. As soon as the child lost his mothers' touch, he started sniffing again and reached towards her, hoping she'd hold him again. 

She felt even more broken at the sight and remained close for a moment longer. So soft it was almost a whisper, she hummed out a song. 

"_I know you'll be alright, child. _

_Just close your eyes, and see,_

_I'll be by your side-_" The girl gently tapped his little heart. "_any time you're needing me..._" 

For twenty minutes, the girl looked at her little boy. She wished things were different. She wished she could take him home, wished she could keep him. But most importantly, she wished the child would have a better life. 

"I'll never forget you." 

And with tear filled eyes, the girl left her baby all alone.


	2. Saved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! I decided to update a little sooner due to these short few chapters and the time I have anyway. 
> 
> This chapter is based an amazingly true story.

The streets were poorly lit and abandoned. It was snowing lightly. No one was able to hear the painful cries of a newborn baby.

The child, whose laughter would one day light up the world, lay dying from the cold, wrapped in not enough blankets to keep his fragile little body warm.

The winter was hard on everyone on the streets. The child had been left there just three hours ago, but there were stray animals dying on a daily bases from the lack of food and below zero temperatures at night.

One of those animals was a black cat with clear brown eyes, living on the streets pretty much his whole life. A collar that said 'Zayn' the only thing keeping people thinking he had a home somewhere.

The cat was intrigued by the cries of the human and sought it out. When he walked around the corner, he must've seen the child in the basket, and approached him, seeing no other kitten or mother around him. The cat knew then, that this youngster was dying from the cold, because a kitten would die too. As the baby kept crying, the cat didn't go away. Instead, he got closer and closer, eventually with his front paws on the basket and into the child's line of vision. The child, in return, slowly stopped crying again and opened his wide eyes to look at the cat.

The animal sniffed, and shocked away one second, not expecting the sudden movements coming from the child, who in turn, got scared by the cat.

It was as though parental instinct had rushed over the cat. After he had lived alone on the streets for so long, he now had a human kitten to take care of. At least until its mother came back. He curled himself around the little one, shielding him from the cold and his soft fur serving as an extra blanket.

It kept both of them alive and safe through the night, the cat sometimes having to scare the crows away that came too close to the baby, or perhaps the baby food next to them.

The cat woke up again when the sun had set and the day had started. Soft echoes of chatters were heard from a few streets away, and the cat got out of the basket. He went out into the alley and meowed at people passing, hoping for one to notice him.

Eventually, a kind-looking woman bowed down to the cat and offered him some food, assuming he was hungry. The cat, however, ran away from the lady, stopping a few meters further and looking back. He was making sure she would follow him. The woman looked confused, but after a minute, she started following the cat, who led her through the alley and to the child.

"Oh Jesus." Was all the woman muttered when he saw the baby. She instantly saw he was abandoned, and the cat was still meowing loudly when she got there.  
Falling to her knees next to the basket, she took out her phone and looked for the kid's pulse. His skin was cold.

"Yes? I need an ambulance. I found a baby on streets, I-" She looked looked at the cat. "I think someone left it here overnight."

Another voice sounded faintly through the phone. The woman tilted her head in thought.

"About, maybe a few hours old? Extremely undercooled."

"No. No one. No parents or any humans whatsoever. Only a cat."

A pause.

"Yes. He's alive."


	3. Little broken, Little new

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let’s get some characters in here. 
> 
> Chapter titles from now on will all be quotes from Sleeping at Last :) 
> 
> Hope you enjoyyyy:)

Harry Styles took his cherished last sip of his coffee as he made his way to the bureau. Throwing away the paper cup at the door, he pushed the door open to be greeted by none other than Josh Devine. The slightly smaller man hurried towards him and Harry found it difficult to read his face, in which he was usually quite good.

"Harry.”

"Good morning to you too, Josh." Yeah. He'd been around Louis long enough to develop a bit of sarcasm for himself.

Josh handed him some files. "Listen, there's a kid-"

"There's always a kid, Josh, that's why we're all here." Okay, enough sarcasm for today. The other man simply rolled his eyes.

"Interesting story really, rather sad. Originally from Ireland, about a year old, and we're possibly risking our lives by keeping him here."

Harry blinked. "Why is that?"

"The last family he was staying. Irish fellas, them. Really rich too. They were horrible to the kid, abused verbally and physically."

Harry sighed. This happened way too often. 

Josh continued, pointing at the files. Harry read along as Josh spoke. He noticed a photograph clipped to the file, a woman on it looking into the camera with a blank but scary expression. It was a jail shot. "The Irish child services took him outta there but especially the Mrs. went mad. Threatened to stop at nothing to get the kid back. For that and the abuse, she got jail time but she apologized for the threads. People believed her and her family paid a shit ton of bail money, and then she was free again. 

After that, the kid was at the Irish agency and nearly got kidnapped not even two weeks later."

"It was the woman." 

"Well, everyone kind of knew that. It was obvious. _But_, unfortunately, no one could prove anything, and of course the woman denied. The kidnapper didn't get away but he wouldn't confess. He's obviously been paid to stay silent. So, the kid got moved, and all records with him. All so she couldn't trace him."

Harry was silent for a bit after Josh finished talking, processing the information. They didn't often get these kind of kids, and when they did, Harry always felt bad. The children were too young for this, still so innocent and influenceable. He noticed another thing while he looked at the papers. 

"What's his name?" He asked, flipping through the pages. Josh finally looked away from the files and at the ground. "Josh?"

"He doesn't have one. Never got one in the first place."

"Original parents?"

"We don't know. He was left on the street in a basket after birth with some food. The person leaving him there obviously didn't think it through. They left him on an abandoned corner in the freezing cold of the night."

"How the heck did he survive?” 

Josh smiled. "Here comes the interesting part." He looked at Harry, who frowned. 

"The kid was left there all night, but the next morning a woman claimed to be drinking a pint when a cat came to her."

Harry looked at him in disbelief. 

"It's true! We have security tapes from the bar she was drinking, camera evidences that a cat -in fact- came to passerby's, and meowed until he got the attention of one. She followed the cat and found the baby still alive. Then called an ambulance. It was impossible for the baby to survive long enough, so the most logical reason is that the cat protected the baby through the night, fur holding the kid warm." 

"Wow." Harry managed after a while.

"I know right. And when the ambulance arrived, the cat ran behind, trying to catch up. The ambulance stopped to let him in. It's the sweetest thing, almost like-" 

"The cat thought the baby was his." Harry finished. "Where is he now? The cat, I mean."

"After the kid got adopted by the rich assholes, the cat was nowhere to be seen again. At least not that we know of. We wanted to get it to a shelter, adopted, but he was gone again before we knew it. Like the kid's protecter."

"I need a cup of tea."

"Harry, the problem is the kid. How are we ever going to find a couple willing to adopt him?" 

Harry hesitated exactly one second before looking at Josh again, this time with a smile.

"I know exactly who to call."


	4. It starts, with our eyes well acquainted with the dark...

The call happened when Louis and Liam were watching tv, cuddled up and eating McDonald's. The ring startled them and Louis grunted at the interruption of their favourite show. Liam chuckled at his husband's response. He'd stand up for him, but since Louis was laying on his chest, he couldn't really move.

Louis continued grunting as he walked to the still ringing phone and looked back at Liam while he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi Louis, how are you?"

"Harry? You make me walk all the way to the phone? You live next door, why not just come in?"

"I would, but I'm at the office. Lou, I might have good news."

Louis froze. He knew where Harry worked, so he knew what this was about.

He and Liam were no strangers to the adoption agency. They'd tried many times. The way this agency worked, was, they'd have a kid, and usually about four couples applied to the child. Then, the agency would choose two couples that would fit well with the child and invite them both to the office to meet the child. Finally, they'd watch with whom the kid had the best bond with. Usually the child had a clear favourite. It had caused tremendous pain for Liam and Louis to see a kid choose another couple time after time. To be honest, Louis had almost given up completely on having a child. He still wanted it more than anything in the world, but by now it just seemed too good to be true. That didn't mean he didn't still feel the rush everytime they had the smallest chance at adopting.

"Louis?"

"Y-yeah I'm still here."

"You okay?"

"Tell me, Haz. Boy or girl?" Not that they cared, but Louis didn't really know what to say at the moment.

Liam's head shot up, and he was up and at his husband's side within a second, not without pausing Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which they'd been watching. Louis put the phone on speaker so Liam could listen too.

"It's a boy," Harry continued. "He's 17 months old, the big milestones yet to be achieved. Wild crawler, he is. Irish, but," he paused.

"What is it, Haz?" Liam asked and Harry didn't seem surprised he was listening.

"He was found on the street at birth, abandoned. Then after his time in the hospital, he was placed into a family who... didn't treat him right. We took him away from there, and out of Ireland because of the threats, but now-"

"Threats?" It wasn't so much a question, but Louis wasn't messing around. This was all a lot of information. Usually, there wasn't this much History in the life of someone so young.

When Harry didn't respond, Liam asked again.

"Harry?"

"The last family have threatened they will stop at nothing ‘till they have the kid back. It's a very complicated story which I'll tell you guys in detail if you want, to be honest I don't know how he got placed there in the first place. All you need to know, is that there were threats made, that's why we moved him to this country. No big language changes but far away from that hell house.

Because of those threats, no one really wanted the kid, and you're kind of the last shot. There's only one other couple supposedly coming in tomorrow. So, you're free to come too.. You know the agency has already approved of you guys, so the only thing you need to decide on is if those threads bother you..."

Louis looked at his husband with wide eyes, and the two didn't need to exchange words to agree on this. They'd wanted this for so, so long. Nothing could stand in the way now. Whatever it was, they'd face it. Together.

"Count us in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so:  
1-I know this isn’t an accurate portrayal of child services, but keep in mind this is a sort of parallel universe where the ot5 aren’t superstars and things like this are different.  
2- I don’t think this week’s chapter is my greatest writing (I’m writing another special agent!ziall AU story that’s going grEat sooo you can expect that in the future, but that’s way better writing, in my opinion.) bUt
> 
> 3- Nowww we get to my favourite chapters. They finally get to meet :’))) 
> 
> Update will come next week!


	5. Darkness exists to make light truly count

The drive was nerve wrecking. Neither had had much time to talk or think about the situation the other day before Liam and Louis agreed to meet their possibly new child.

Harry stood outside when they arrived, clearly waiting for them. Since he was their neighbour and best friend, this must've also been really exciting for him. The couple walked up the stairs and were greeted by Harry, who started talking quietly.

"Okay, from the other couple only the woman showed up. I don't wanna get your hopes up but that gives you a huge advantage," he said with a smile, and Liam beamed from happiness. Louis was still nervous. This was the closest to getting a child they'd ever been. He looked down when he felt something tickle his leg and saw a dark cat staring at him, wanting to be pet. Louis smiled and bowed down to give a pet over the cat's head. He could never quite resist cats.

"But she's already with him? The woman?" Liam asked and Harry nodded.

"She got here ten minutes ago, said she thought she'd get there early."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Liam said nervously and Louis stood back up when Harry started leading them inside, as if they didn't know the way.

Louis forgot about the cat. He forgot about anything other than his husband and the child. If the woman had come early, that meant that she had already spent time with the child. She had a big advantage. She had already met him and he probably loved her by now. He and Liam had no chance anymore, basically. Looking over to him, he saw his husband didn't seem to have the same concern. He seemed tense, nervous, but smiled. So Louis took his hand again, and offered a soft but gentle smile.

"Whatever happens.." Liam started.

"I'll still love you.” Louis finished. “I know.. me too."

The corridor to the meeting room seemed longer then he remembered, but what he saw when he got there was worth it.

Harry had opened the door and Louis only had eyes for the boy sitting at the table.

He had blond hair, more hair than Louis expected a toddler to have, it was messy and hung in front of his eyes. Beautiful, blue eyes. He was smiling, so innocently and bright. The child looked absolutely adorable.

The woman sat next to him on the floor, handing blocks with which the boy was building a tower of sorts. He looked immensely concentrated until the door creaked and he forgot all about it to look at the strangers that had come in.

Louis felt like his heart stopped and tightened the grip on his husband's hand.

"Hello?" The woman hadn't looked up, and she tried to force cubes in the boy's hand when he didn't take them. The child, in turn, flinched away from her sudden movement and crawled towards the new people in the room.

"Remember," Josh started.He was also in the room, keeping a close eye on the situation and probably seeing the woman looking angrily at the toddler crawling away from her. "This is not a competition. This is simply a test for the child, to see if he has a connection to anyone. If he doesn't choose you, try not to feel offended."

Harry, in the meantime, was smiling from ear to ear as he watched the baby sit and stare at Harry's favourite couple.

After the two took off their jackets, they took one more look at each other before slowly sitting down crossed legged, a reasonable distance from the toddler. This way, he could come to them on his own and they wouldn't be forcing anything.

"Hello there." Louis started. "This is Liam and I'm Louis. What's your name?" In shame, Louis looked up to Harry, since he really just forgot to ask the child's name.

"Uhh he doesn't have a name yet." Harry said awkwardly. "The last place he stayed just called him-" he stopped himself.

"-an object I'm not naming. His language skills are growing, but he can understand more than he can express. I think it's best that wherever he's going to stay, he gets a new name and if all goes alright, he'll respond to the new name after a while. We," he gestured between Josh and himself. "Thought it'd be best if the ones he goes to get to name him."

Louis looked back at the kid. They'd even get to name the kid, who was still staring at him with bright eyes.

"Sorry, baby-" Louis started, but the boy interrupted him by holding a big plushy in front of him and Liam.

Liam laughed. "You have something to show us?"

On the other side of the room, the woman got furious. "Hold on." She stood up and walked to Harry.

"Something wrong, Mrs. Parell?"

"You're not actually saying these two men will possibly own the child together?"

"I wasn't actually saying anything, Madame, but yes, you're correct."

"But that's wrong! They won't be able to raise him! He needs a mother and a father!"

Louis wanted to stand up and slap the bitch right across the face, but something about the little boy made him not want to move a muscle. He felt Liam's stare too, probably thinking more rationally about this. They couldn't risk getting violent and throwing away their shot. Too much was at stake. Besides, Louis and Liam both knew Harry had faced enough homophobia to know how to handle it.

Harry simply sighed. _Don't swear, kid's still present_. "That is an incredibly rude and incorrect thing to say." 

The woman kept shouting and Harry and Josh tried to contain the noise, but for the toddler it was already too much. To Louis' surprise, the boy didn't cry. He just looked unsettled, and then did something no one expected.

The boy crawled onto Louis' lap, and reached out for Liam's hands. Liam sat close across from Louis -with tears in his eyes at the sight- and slowly moved his hands towards the toddler, who grabbed them and held them each to one ear to block the shouting.

Louis didn't hear the Mrs. Parell anymore. It was like the world stood still. Before he knew it, he felt tears on his cheeks. He felt his arms slowly wrapping around the little one, and he watched his reaction closely. The boy didn't move away. Instead, he closed his eyes and relaxed into the warm touch. Louis wondered whether he'd been getting enough sleep while the moving all the time. He chuckled when he finally looked up to see Liam with equally wet cheeks.

"Man and woman. That's how it's supposed to be! That's what a child needs!"

Now Harry snapped. "Okay first of all, I work here. You're just an angry woman standing too close to me, so I think I'm the expert on this matter. What a child _needs_ parents that love him. That will take care of him. Love, not hate, can raise a child. Shouting angrily will not get you far. Now, I don't know much about your personal story apart from the books from the agency, Mrs. Parell, but you're here alone, no Mr. Parell in sight, which just makes me wonder whether you and him are even in this together. If it were up to me I'd kick you out right now. Unfortunately, it's no use since the child has already chosen his Direction and that's far away from you."

Still smiling kindly, Harry gestured to his neighbours with their new baby on the ground. The toddler was falling asleep, his grip on Liam's hands loosening, and nuzzling into Louis.

Mrs. Parell was as red as a tomato. "I'm suing you all." She said, and stormed out of the room, holding her handbag tight.

Harry didn't care for the woman, and smiled at the couple. "Congrats, boys. Finally."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, these chapters are a bit longer. I hope you liked it, thanks for reading and hopefully you’ll be excited for next chapter because I am :)) 
> 
> It’ll be the final chapter, with an epilogue to end it the week after that, soooo... yeah.


	6. I’ll do better

The child had fallen asleep in Louis' arms before they knew it. He was obviously dreaming, seeing as his little eyelids were fluttering in his sleep. Louis looked down on him with a smile and hoped it was a good one.

_May these words be the first_

_To find your ears._

The new fathers had gone into an blank, boring office -to discuss further things they needed to know- for hours. On any other day, Louis would've either stormed out, or playfully mess with Liam to pass the time. He didn't have the patience for those sort of things. But today was different, today he was anticipating and hanging on every word. However, with a baby sleeping in his arms, he couldn't look at anything else than their beautiful boy.

_The world is brighter than the sun_

_Now that you're here._

Mostly, he was shocked at the amount of things that had happened to their baby boy before they'd adopted him. It was horrible to think about, and he and Liam couldn't ignore it. The child had experienced too much.

"Like you saw earlier when he flinched by Mrs. Parell's touch, he doesn't like sudden movements. Especially in the beginning, I would suggest you only pick him up or hug him if he comes to you. I already saw you do this when you two met the boy and I can see that you will be terrific parents." Josh had said with a kind smile. Harry had been standing with his arms crossed in the corner of the room, grinning like an idiot.

"However, the child's condition can sometimes cause difficulties. Like the one I mentioned earlier, but also things like his sleeping pattern. In the time he has been here, he has barely slept, and we suspect this will continue for a bit. If it takes too long, we suggest a doctor's opinion. To be honest, it beats me how he's sleeping now.

We have known multiple parents who have given back children with similar conditions. It isn't an easy episode to raise a child when it has already had traumatic experiences."

_Though your eyes will need some time to adjust_

_To the overwhelming light surrounding us,_

Liam spoke up this time. "We're aware. But we promise to pull through and raise him right. You've got to believe me-"

_I'll give you everything I have._

_I'll teach you everything I know._

_I promise I'll do better._

"Don't worry, Mr. Tomlinson-Payne. We've already been through this," Josh continued. "You two have been approved by the agency. All you have to do is name him for us, and he's ready to come with you. We'll make sure he'll appear in the records. We'll assume September 13th as his birthday since he looked to be a day of age when he was found."

_I will always hold you close,_

_But I will learn to let you go._

_I promise I'll do better._

"Name him now?" Louis turned his head from the child, to Josh and Harry, to

Liam. "Talk about pressure."

"We'll leave you three alone to think. Take as long as you need, this isn't a decision to rush."

"You think?" Louis muttered sarcastically, but Josh and Harry were already out of the room. He looked down at the child once again, and again his eyes started tearing up from happiness. "I can't believe we get to take him home."

_I will soften every edge,_

_I'll hold the world to its best,_

_And I'll do better._

"He's beautiful." Liam responded, hugging Louis from behind, and petting the sleeping boy's head gently. He laid his head on Louis' shoulder. "Can you believe I've already fallen in love with him?"

"I know, me too." Louis smiled and his voice softened. He looked up at his husband, who was still standing behind him arms wrapped around him. "But what will we name him?"

"We both know you've known what you were going to call him for years. Even when we were kids it was your favourite boy's name."

There came the tears again. "Are you sure? We both have to agree on this."

"Lou, I love the name, I love him, I love you."

'_Cause you are loved._

_You are loved more than you know._

"Alright then." Louis looked down at the boy again and cooed at his cuteness.

"I hope you like it too, Niall James Tomlinson-Payne."

_I hereby pledge all of my days_

_To prove it so._

Liam smiled at the middle name as it was the same as his own. Louis has named their child after him.

"That's a lot of names." Liam chuckled through the tears and he kissed his husband on the cheek.

_Though your heart is far too young to realize_

_The unimaginable light you hold inside,_

"He'll love it." Louis said, and Liam gave him the room to stand up with Niall. He opened the door to see Harry standing close to the door, innocently looking at the ceiling.

"You listened, didn't you." Louis said with a blank expression. He'd known harry longer than today.

Josh was clearly sweating. "I tried to stop him, I know this is highly unprofessional-"

"'It's fine, Josh, 's just Harry." Liam waved it off.

"Should I drive you home?" Harry suggested. "Then you two can sit with N- I mean, your new baby, which you've named. What name did you decide on?"

"Niall. Niall James Tomlinson-Payne."

"That's a long name."

"Yeah well, we like it that way."

_I will rearrange the stars,_

_Pull 'em down to where you are._

_I promise, I'll do better._

Harry brought them home safely. Louis and Liam had spent the whole ride admiring and cooing at their sleeping baby. "If you need anything-"

"We're good, Haz, thank you. For everything.." Liam smiled and hugged their best friend tight. Louis still had Niall in his arms, so he nodded along and promised he'd hug later.

"You two deserve this. I'm so happy for you."

"You better be. You know, since you're his godfather."

Harry's eyes widened. Louis _lived_ for his confusion and grinned.

"I mean, if you want to, I'm sure other people would like to-"

"I'm a godfather!" Harry shouted as he jumped, and hugged Liam again. "I won't let you down, lads."

"We know, Hazza." Liam said and the other man let go of him to get his keys out of his pocket. Harry waved them a final goodbye, wishing them a goodnight and thanking them again.

Liam unlocked the front door and Louis didn't hesitate to walk in. Both fathers couldn't wait to show the house to their new child. When Louis didn't move, the boy slowly opened his eyes and yawned.

Louis thought it was the single cutest thing he'd ever seen.

_With every heartbeat I have left_

_I will defend your every breath,_

_And I'll do better._

"Welcome home, Niall."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :’) That was the end of the original story... “Epilogue” (although it will be just as long as other chapters) next week to wrap it all up. 
> 
> Lyrics throughout this chapter (I hope that worked, I know many people don’t like it) are from ‘Light’ from Sleeping at Last. A very appropriate song. I even think I started this fic in my head while listening to that... 
> 
> Thank you agAin to everyone who read this far, this has been a lot of fun.


	7. Epilogue

Liam couldn't sleep that night. Next to him, his husband was snoring through the night. He wasn't bothered by it, though, it sounded cute.

He thought about his Freshman year. How the school bell had a threatening effect on the first years, hurrying to their classes.

He remembered the day he first saw Louis. That kid was already in his class, not bothering to look at his classmates storming in at the last second. Liam had been the only kid who was brave enough to take the empty seat next to Louis. That was the first time they met.

Next thing they knew, they were laying next to each other on a hill, staring at the sun going down. Usually Louis hated these cliche "dates", but it made Liam happy. He knew that -even though he’d never admit it- Louis had loved it too.

He remembered their wedding vows.

“_For your eyes only_,” Louis had said. “_I’ll show you my heart_.”

He turned his head to look at his now snoring husband. Liam smiled from ear to ear, enjoying the moment.

He thought about Niall, how they finally adopted after all this time. _And the boy was so perfect._

Eventually he couldn't take it anymore. When he and Louis did research on traumatized kids, he'd read that usually, children living somewhere else, cry when they're left alone. _So why was Niall so quiet?_

He got out of bed, careful to not wake up Louis, and walked across the hall into their baby's room. It was still dark and Liam had to walk in to see Niall was still in his crib.

The little boy sat straight on top of the sheets, clearly awake. He looked at Liam with wide blue eyes as if he was his savior. Liam smiled at how cute he looked in his footed onesie, and bowed down next to the crib to be on eyelevel with Niall. He noticed the blond was already a toddler, but was still very small.

"What are you doing up, Nialler? Something wrong?" Liam knew Niall wanted to be picked up, and to be honest he wanted nothing more than to hug his kid. But the agency had been clear enough, Niall had to show signs of wanting to be picked up. So Liam did nothing for a while.

"Do you need a nappy change?"

He was glad when Niall eventually lost patience and started whining, still in baby language, and reached out. Liam smiled and didn't hesitate to scoop him up and just hold him in his arms. Niall seemed to like it, as he melted into the touch and smiled against Liam's chest.

Liam couldn't help but boop the tip of the child's nose. Niall lifted his head up to look at Liam, then he raised his arm to give a boop on Liam's nose too with his entire -very tiny- hand.

This baby was too precious.

Giggling softly, Liam hugged the boy. He bounced him a bit up and down, as one does with babies. "They warned us about your sleeping patterns, or lack of, actually. You need to sleep, though, Niall..." He felt the blond's head nuzzle into his shoulder and remembered how he'd fallen asleep in Louis' arms as well. Maybe he only felt comfortable enough to sleep in someone's arms. 

It surprised Liam a bit, seeing as usually with kids that have gone through abuse flinch away when adults try to touch them, let alone hold them. And Niall did flinch, he had the exact reaction when Mrs. Parell had made sudden movement towards the child. He just didn't do that with them. It could be that Niall had been too young to register the abuse, or maybe he just felt comfortable with this couple so far...

He decided not to worry too much about it as soon as he looked down. Niall's eyes were drooping again, and the tiredness finally kicked in. Liam thought the boy'd held out quite a while, all through the agency and hectic, it'd been a rough ride for the small creature.

With his new child now sleeping almost soundlessly in his arms, he made his way back to Louis' and his bedroom. His husband, who'd seemed dead asleep just two minutes ago, was now moving and making his way to sit against the headboard while Liam got into bed as well.

"Hi."

"Hello, love."

"He okay?" Louis glanced at the sleeping boy.

Liam nodded. "He couldn't sleep, I think it helps when we pick him up."

Louis smiled. "He chose us, Li. Even before the bitch started to cause her scene."

He was about to respond, when he heard the faintest sound from outside.

"What is it?" Louis asked his frowning husband.

As Liam got up and focused on the sound, he decided to keep Niall in his arms, afraid the boy would wake up if he didn't.

"Liam."

"There's something outside."

"It's the middle of the night, it's probably Harry coming home drunkenly from some party." That didn't usually happen, but Louis liked to make fun of the curly lad. It was never serious, anyway.

Moving towards the sound, he ended up walking down the stairs, to the front door.

"Luv, are you crazy? We just had this whole 'threats' chat today, about how we should always look out for this family. Do you honestly think opening our door -in the middle of the night, _with_ Niall in your arms- _would be a good idea?_" Louis' accent got thicker with every word. That always happened when the man got frustrated.

"I don't think it's human, Lou." Liam said softly, and opened the door before his husband could complain.

In front of their house, sat a black cat. Being as loud as he could.

Both the man were quiet for a while, just staring. Then Louis stepped forward.

"Hold on," He bowed down. "I've seen you before. At the adoption center. But... what are you doing here."

"Do you remember the story Harry told us, about how Niall got found?" Liam held his son a little closer at the memory.

"You think this is the cat that saved him?"

"It'd make sense. He must've followed him here." Louis checked the collar. "Zayn."

The cat, or 'Zayn', was quiet now, and walked against Liam's legs.

The two men looked at each other. It was one of those looks they didn't need to communicate for. 

They'd given each other a lot of looks over time.

When a little girl they'd liked so much chose another couple over them.

When Josh had said the best choice for them was to stop waiting, so they wouldn't get their hopes up for them to just be let down again.

When Harry told them that it wouldn't work out, he wouldn't be able to get them a child. 

It was a look of desperation, of helplessness.

It was the look the couple had given each other when they were asked to try adopting this baby boy.

It was a look of love.

Louis let Zayn in, and Liam made a mental note to get cat food and supplies when he going to get more diapers tomorrow.

They'd made a family, and no one was going to be able to break that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...so... that was it... I’m a mix of sad and relieved to be honest. I do love this universe a lot, and I think I left enough opportunities open for myself to maybe make a sequel in the future. If you’d like that, please let me know. I’d definitely like to write more to this, but I’m also really busy so I don’t know when I’d have time. 
> 
> ..I’ve literally started college with this fic...
> 
> Anyway I want to thank you all for reading, commenting, giving kudos and all. It means more than you know to me. 
> 
> Have a very nice day and happy early birthday to Niall. 
> 
> <3


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